Fuu Ayumu's Quarters - Ninth Division
Aug 18, 2024 0:24:52 GMT -6
Post by Fuu Ayumu on Aug 18, 2024 0:24:52 GMT -6
“Early Morning Reflections”:
The soft glow of the early morning filtered through the thin paper walls of her modest quarters, casting long shadows across the floor. Fuu sat, her thoughts a storm of unease and doubt. What had she stumbled upon? How could something so vast, and so dangerous, have been hidden in plain sight for so long? She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself, but the weight of her discovery pressed down on her like a boulder.
The six noble families... The Masanobus... How could this have remained a secret?
Her fingers traced the edge of the scroll before her, one of the few pieces of tangible evidence she had unearthed. It was so limited, just whispers in old records that most would overlook, but after what the old man had told her... it all started to make a chilling kind of sense.
The old man... what was his name again? She couldn’t remember, but his face was etched into her memory. The deep lines of age, the eyes that seemed to have seen too much, and the voice, gravelly with years, that spoke truths she hadn’t been prepared to hear.
"He said he was one of them... a Masanobu assassin," Fuu whispered aloud, her voice trembling slightly. She had brushed it off at first, thinking he was just another old man with stories to tell, tales that grew more elaborate with age. But his eyes... those eyes had made her listen, made her believe.
Why did I believe him? Why did his words cling to me like shadows?
She remembered how he had laughed, a bitter sound, when he saw her doubt. "You think the Soul Society is as pure as the Seireitei’s white walls? Child, the truth is buried deep, where no light reaches." And then he had told her, piece by piece, the truth about the Masanobus, the secret weapon of the Koriyama clan.
The Koriyama clan... one of the six great noble families... Fuu had always known there were dark secrets within the nobility, but this... this was something else entirely. The Masanobus were more than just a group of assassins. They were the hidden blade of the Koriyama clan, purging corruption and eliminating threats with ruthless efficiency. And they had been doing it for centuries, unseen, unknown.
How can something so terrible, but so necessary, be so well-hidden?
Her mind raced as she recalled the details. The Masanobus, hidden in plain sight as the Tori clan, carrying out the Koriyama clan's will. Even the other noble families knew and also used the Masanobu’s services and they all kept the secret. The weight of it was overwhelming.
"What do I do with this?" she murmured to herself. She had no intention of publishing it—not ever—but it was a truth that couldn't be ignored. If she was able to uncover this with only two weeks of research who else could find this information? She had to get the information she collected to one of the six noble families. Only they would know what to do with this information, and how to handle it, but she knew none of the six great noble families. Only Captain Byakuya Kuchiki.
And that was when she found herself thinking of Yorusuke Nagano, her friend in the Sixth Division. He was someone she trusted, someone who could bring this to the right people, someone who could speak to Byakuya Kuchiki himself.
But what if I'm wrong? What if this old man was just spinning tales?
No... The pieces fit too well. The hints in the Daireishokairo, the whispers she had heard in the Rukongai, and the old man’s revelations—everything aligned too perfectly to be coincidence.
She stood, the early morning chill seeping into her bones as she gathered her notes. Fuu had to see Yorusuke. If anyone could help her navigate this, it was him.
Moved